Chapter 27
Sid kissed Grace”s lips and petted Chiefy before climbing in the truck to tell Coop he was going to buy the Garage. He couldn”t remember a time when he felt so happy about the future. He had purpose now. He had Grace. And, he”d have his own business. And, right here in town with his two best friends who also owned businesses. So, he”d have sounding boards and friends to bounce ideas off of. And, again, he had Grace. That was the most exciting part of his future. She was exciting.
He pulled into the Garage parking area. Coop was inside working on an older truck that had been brought in earlier today. He looked up as Sid parked, wiped his hands on a rag hanging from his pocket and waited for Sid to come closer.
”Did you talk to your girl?”
”I did.”
Coop nodded but said nothing. Sid”s heartbeat was wild in his chest. He was barely able to contain his excitement. ”I”d like to buy the Garage from you, Coop.”
Coop smiled. The wrinkles on his face, scrunched a bit more, the creases around his eyes deepened. ”I figured.”
Sid laughed. ”You did?”
”Yeah. That girl is smitten with you. She looks at you like my missus looks at me. She”s besotted.”
Sid shook his head and furrowed his brows. Did she? He hadn”t noticed. Likely because he was always staring at her. He probably looked like a sick cow.
Coop laughed. ”You look at her that way too. Just so you know.”
”I don...” He cocked his head to the side and stared at the old man. His grin said it all. He was a man of years who”d seen and done things Sid had yet to experience. He was a man who saw things others didn”t because he watched people. He wanted to ask if he looked like that sick cow he”d imagined, but didn”t want to hear the answer.
Sid nodded. ”Thank you for pointing that out. I hope I always look at her that way.”
Coop chuckled. He tucked his thumbs in the front pockets of his bib overalls. ”You gonna rename her?”
Sid”s brows bunched. Grace? Why would he...then he realized Coop meant the Garage. He grinned at the old man and nodded. ”Miracle Garage.”
The old man laughed out loud, slapped his hips, and nodded. ”That works.”
He stepped forward and held his hand out. ”I”ll have my lawyer draw up the papers. When do you want to make this official?”
Sid shrugged. ”As soon as you can get the paperwork done. I have the money in the bank. It”s no problem there.”
Coop nodded. ”We”ll shoot for next week.”
Coop turned to finish working on the truck. He said over his shoulder, ”What are you going to do about those bikers?”
Sid thought for a moment. He wasn”t sure. Not yet, but maybe he and Grace would try to work with the city council and see what they could do. But, they”d do it together.
”I”m not a hundred percent sure at this point.” He opened a shop rag, dropped some tools in it to take out to the bike and rolled them up in the rag.
As he moved toward the door, Coop nodded. ”Don”t let them win.”
He nodded as he looked around the garage. He”d be damned if he let them win. He was finally, finally, realizing his dreams. Funny thing is he didn”t even know these were his dreams a few weeks ago. But, he”d stumbled on this small close-knit town. He was near his friends. He”d own his own business which would help him fully become part of this community. He had a place he felt he really belonged.
He sucked in a lungful of air, turned slowly and meandered toward the Knucklehead. He felt giddy and light as air. He couldn”t wait to celebrate with Grace tonight. He couldn”t wait...
Where would they spend tonight? The sound of a motorcycle reached his ears. He watched the street, as a biker pulled to a stop about three blocks down. He sat back on his parked bike, nonchalantly, but watching the Garage. Sid wondered if there was one sitting down the road from Grace”s.
He pulled his phone out to call her when Jace pulled to a stop in front of the garage. ”Hey, there, grease monkey.”
Sid chuckled. ”That”s me.”
”I just heard the good news. You”re now a business owner in Blossom Springs?”
”Well, unofficially. Next week it”ll be official.”
”Perfect. Then, I”ll invite you and Grace to our little business association. We like to stay on top of all things that have to do with the commerce of our town. Meetings are every first Monday of the month.”
”We”ll be there.”
”Where are you two staying tonight? I see you still have a tail. Grace has one too.”
”I was just thinking about that. And, since I”ll be here permanently, I should look for a little place of my own to call home. If you hear of any good places, let me know.”
Jace laughed. ”I”ve got the perfect place for you and Grace and Chiefy.”
Sid”s heartbeat kicked up. They hadn”t talked about living together. Just continuing to see each other. Before he could respond, Jace said. ”I”ll set up a showing for this evening.”
He didn”t wait for a response, he took off driving down Main Street toward the Sandbar. Sid took in a deep breath. Things were moving fast. He waited for the usual tingling to happen just before he had a panic attack. He knelt in front of the Knucklehead so he wouldn”t fall if he got dizzy. He waited some more. Then, he realized, no panic attacks were coming. He wasn”t at all panicked about any of this. He was excited.
He blew out a breath, unwrapped the tools he”d pulled from the garage to work on the Knucklehead and with a smile on his face, he started pulling the starter off the bike. He”d kick off early tonight to speak with Grace about the little house and what her thoughts were on moving in together.